Pho @ Mien Tay

We were disappointed with Mien Tay. It has all the hallmarks of being a great place. Nice, small, friendly restaurant, being busy when others around it were empty. But sometimes looks can be deceiving.

I have to say however that the food wasn’t the worst I have ever eaten. I mean its Pho was nowhere as bad as that chain of the same name, then again who would serve a lukewarm broth with under cooked noodles. Utter disgrace. Once bitten, twice keep hand in wallet.

So on a cold Sunday afternoon, we found ourselves sitting inside a nice warm and fairly busy Mien Tay. There was a nice vibe inside, with lots of people chatting and tucking into some nice looking food.

The menu reads as it should do. Lot’s of good Vietnamese staples on there, of the Vietnamese kind. Which is a blessing these days, as I keep coming across Vietnamese restaurants of the Chinese kind, or are they Chinese restaurants with a beef noodle soup on the menu. Marketing.

To get things going, we ordered some Salad rolls. You kinda know how the rest of the meal is going to be after tucking into a staple of any Vietnamese gaff. They were not bad. A little too fat and stumpy, but with the peanut sauce they were tasty. So far so good.

Next up really should be the star of any show in any Vietnamese restaurant are the Pho’s. So we ordered one beef and one chicken.

The Pho’s, which were well made, and had all the right accompaniments, but were just a little underwhelming. There was not that roasted spice depth of flavour that you come to expect from a good Pho. The stock was the problem. I’m guessing they can’t either make a good stock, or they had watered it down a bit to get more out of it. Either way, bloody disappointing.

But as it was near arctic temperatures outside, the Pho did warm us up and supply some well needed nourishment and soul boosting energy for the trip back outside. Damn it was a cold Sunday.

I kinda wish we had tried the fried fish, as everyone around us was eating it and enjoying it. Maybe that is their star. Not sure if there will be a next time, but if there is, then maybe.